&quot;FUNSTERS&quot; MEET BENNIE THE RUG AT MESKI

"Bennie the Rug", known as the 'rug' as he can and does supply any size, colour and price! Endless rolls of any colour plastic for the outside carpet offered at just 2.00 pounds per meter!! Compare that the next time you visit a motorhome show. To others, Bennie is also known as Bennie Marjane [Marjane a large supermarket chain], as he can source and supply anything, but to DD he is just Bennie, entertainments manager! A real character, we met when he was a young boy now a grown man.

I/we are awoken by the day starting with many wailings, this time not from the local Mosques but from the Mosque alarm clocks that were purchased by the "funsters" back in Meknes. The alarms had been set, not to ring out with the sound of bells, but set to call out several verses of the Koran!!!

While Geo and Lyndon remained behind at camp to refit Geos window screen [more about that later], the rest followed Bennie the Rug for a tour of Meski village, where they visited the central well, olive press, the Mosque and several homes of the locals. Best of all they joined the children in the tiny infant/junior school for a couple of lessons. The "funsters" were taught how to count 1 to 10 in Arabic.

A'hammid [our staff member] father prepared and cooked the "funsters" their evening meal, consisting of Harrira [tradional soup] made up of lamb, tomatoes, celery, onions, parsley, coriander, ginger,cinnamon, cumin, paprika and much more, prepared two to three hours before serving, followed by Beef kebabs. Most agreed it was the best meal so far.

Returning to the RV encampment most of the "funsters" laid back in their reclining chairs beneath the starry sky late into the night, no sound of chatter at this moment in time, as I look around this scene combined with the silence and feeling of isolation that creates an intense feeling of mystery, the darkness stealing swifly out from the nearby desert, I find myself thinking, I have chosen a far from restful lifestyle preferring to look upon these tours as adventures, the physical and mental demands of which are more than balanced by the knowledge that for many people of my age, the days of such adventures could soon be over. Hoping that the "funsters" have discovered an entirely new part of the world and fallen in love with it, I, like the "funsters" take myself off to bed.